{"id":787,"date":"2025-09-19T20:20:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/?p=787"},"modified":"2026-03-26T20:41:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:41:39","slug":"princetons-venue-services-hosts-local-intern-through-career-building-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/?p=787","title":{"rendered":"Princeton\u2019s Venue Services hosts local intern through career-building program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Demara White, Office of Communications<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sept. 19, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent Mercer County Community College graduate Jacob Rodriguez spent the summer at Princeton supporting campus events and operations, refining the skills related to his career ambitions in music and production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jacob Rodriguez steps into a performance space, he sees more than just the stage. His sights span the lighting, sound, the cables underfoot and those working steadily in the wings to bring an artist\u2019s vision to life. As a musician and performer, Rodriguez knows all about standing in the spotlight, but this summer, his educational background and interest in music technology sparked his curiosity to learn more about the logistics behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThinking about my career five to 10 years from now, I see myself being the kind of artist who does it all,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cIf something goes wrong offstage, instead of relying on others to fix it, I want to be able to jump in and be a helping hand to ensure everything runs smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez\u2019s drive to be multifaceted made him a natural fit for an internship with Princeton\u2019s Venue Services team. Housed in the Frist Campus Center, Venue Services<\/a> provides building operational and event support in various academic and University administrative buildings, managing over 200 events annually across Princeton\u2019s campus. The department handles everything from space reservations and equipment setup to day-of event logistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Smiling
As part of his role, Rodriguez supports daily operations at the Frist Campus Center Welcome Desk. Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications.<\/em>
 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez\u2019s hands-on opportunity was secured through a partnership between Princeton\u2019s Office of Community and Regional Affairs<\/a> and HigherUp<\/a>, a nonprofit organization based in Hightstown, New Jersey, that connects students and recent graduates from the town with career opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each summer, Community and Regional Affairs partners with local nonprofits to place local youth in intern roles across campus. The programs aim to help young people, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, develop professional skills, explore career interests and gain real-world experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of his internship, Rodriguez has learned the ins and outs of campus events and operations. He\u2019s taken the lead on several projects, including an overhaul of the Frist Center\u2019s virtual lost and found system, where he created a new website and streamlined its form submission process, making it easier for students to submit, search for and claim lost items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Rodriguez has led First Welcome Desk operations, assisted with event setup and troubleshooting alongside Princeton\u2019s AV Services staff, and supported preparation for new and returning student move-in activities \u2014 all experiences that have given him a robust and fast-paced view of how the team functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosalie Jule, operations and student team manager in Venue Services, said Rodriguez brought a level of maturity, creativity and professionalism that elevated the team\u2019s summer efforts. \u201cWe\u2019ve had temporary summer hires before, but Jacob has displayed next-level dedication. He is dependable, inventive and brings a unique perspective, considering his performance background and experiences,\u201d said Jule. \u201cHe not only cares deeply about the work, but he has actively contributed to improving our systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man
Rodriguez and his internship supervisor, Rosalie Jule. Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jule and Marguerite Vera, senior associate director of Venue Services, worked as Rodriguez\u2019s internship coordinators and mentors over the summer. This was the first time the two had supervised a student through the HigherUp program, and both describe the experience as overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJacob has exceeded our expectations,\u201d said Vera. \u201cHe came in bringing a fresh perspective and eagerness to learn, and will leave making an impact, not just on the projects he has completed, but on the people he\u2019s worked with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His time with Venue Services follows an internship with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra\u2019s Princeton Festival in June, where he worked as a production assistant. Alongside his budding music career, he also serves as a student liaison with HigherUp, where he helps fellow participants access career resources and develop resumes, and co-facilitates training sessions and workshops for the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez says that his role at Princeton has helped \u201cexpand his experience as a production assistant in a different setting,\u201d one that requires attention to detail, effective communication with multiple units and the ability to adapt quickly to unexpected challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he looks ahead, with his internship wrapping up this month, Rodriguez said his experience has given him a clearer sense of his strengths while providing lasting skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough my ultimate goal is to be a full-time recording artist, this experience has helped me connect the technical and logical aspects of events to my work as a musician and confirmed that I enjoy being involved in all aspects of event production, not just performing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Demara White, Office of Communications Sept. 19, 2025 Recent Mercer County Community College graduate Jacob Rodriguez spent the summer at Princeton supporting campus events and operations, refining the skills related to his career ambitions in music and production. When Jacob Rodriguez steps into a performance space, he sees more than just the stage. His sights…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20250902_jacobintern_mr_052-1-600x351.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20250902_jacobintern_mr_052-1-600x351.png","author_info":{"display_name":"higherupdev","author_link":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/author\/higherupdev"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.higherupnj.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}